SENSORY PROCESSING We all have it but what exactly is it?

Sensory Processing is the way that the nervous system receives messages from the senses and turns them into appropriate motor and behavioral responses. What happens when sensory though is affected?

Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) is a disorder of the brain that prevents certain parts of the brain from receiving the information that it needs to interpret the sensory information that it receives. Children with SPD find it difficult to process and therefore act upon the information received through their senses.

Some common facts about SPD:

At least 1 in 20 people in the general population may be affected

Prevalence higher in children who are gifted, those with ADHD, Autism, or fragile X syndrome, than in other populations.

Studies have found a significant difference between the physiology of children with SPD and children who are typically developing or with ADHD.

Sensory Processing Disorder has unique sensory symptoms that are not explained by other known disorders.

Heredity may be one cause of the disorder.

Laboratory studies suggest that the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems are not functioning typically in children with SPD.

Problems planning and carrying out new motor actions lead to difficulty in forming a goal or idea, planning a sequence of actions or performing new motor tasks.

Children appear clumsy, awkward, and accident-prone (e.g. can break toys, have poor skill in ball activities or other sports, or have trouble with fine motor activities)

Tend to prefer sedentary activities or try to hide their motor planning problem with talking or with fantasy play.

Sensory Discrimination Disorder (SDD): Occurs when a child can discriminate means understanding accurately what is seen, heard, felt, tasted, or smelled in the environment.

Exhibit problems determining the characteristics of sensory input. The result is a poor ability to interpret the input (e.g. Do I see a “P” or a “Q”? Do I hear “cat” or “cap”, or “Do I feel a quarter or a dime in my pocket?” or “Am I falling to the side or backwards?”).

Can appear awkward in both gross and fine motor abilities and also seem inattentive to people and objects in their environment. Children also may take extra time to process the important attributes of sensory input.

HOW OUR CENTER TREATS SENSORY DISCRIMINATION DISORDER

Treatment focuses on guiding children through activities that are fun and playful, but also subtly challenge the child.

The goal is to promote age appropriate responses to sensation in an active, meaningful and fun way!

Call us today at 619-692-0622 to speak to an Occupational Therapist and get more information….

Therapy Methods

At Kara Dodds and Associates, we realize that children benefit from a variety of therapy methods and approaches. As such, our team of multi-disciplinary pediatric therapists obtain advanced courses and trainings and specialize in neurological and developmental delays. Therapy is delivered in a one-to-one setting but also in small groups in a systemic, structured, but play-based teaching approach. Our specialized therapy methods include -

Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS) is using a series of visuals to teach a child to initiate by giving a picture to a communicative partner.

Prompts for Restructuring Oral Muscular Phonetic Targets (PROMPT) is a tactile-kinesthetic approach that uses touch cues to clients articulators to help guide them through a targeted word or phrase.

Kaufman Speech & Language Protocol: is a way to teach children with apraxia of speech the easiest ways to say words until they have increased motor –speech coordination.

Hanen Center: (More Than Words) teaches techniques on how to use visual systems for transitioning, requesting, understanding the schedule or “what’s” next, how to shape echolalia speech patterns and more in everyday activities.

Social Stories: developed by Carol Gray, these method uses visuals and individual stories to teach social skills or appropriate expectations of behaviors through visual models www.thegraycenter.org), and Video Play Modeling.

Funding / Insurance Options

We accept a variety of plans to cover your child’s therapy needs. We bill and work with insurances directly taking the hassle out of it for families. We accept: